Adams and Adams celebrates another successful annual Africa Network Meeting
Pretoria, 11 September 2024 – Adams and Adams hosted its 12th annual Africa Network Meeting, the largest intellectual property (IP) seminar of its kind in Africa, from 4 to 6 September 2024 at its head office in Pretoria. The event provided an opportunity for the firm’s Africa partners, Associate Offices, IP practitioners and Senior IP Officers to come together to share industry insights and experiences relevant to the field of IP on the African continent.
This year’s meeting saw the participation of over 70 IP professionals from 23 countries and included representatives from the South African Patent Office (CIPC) and the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO).
A highlight of the three-day event was an inspiring address by motivational guest speaker Pie-Pacifique Kabalira-Uwase, founder and director of PEM Afurika, a management consulting company, and author of Witnessing: From the Rwandan Tragedy to Healing in South Africa. Born in Rwanda, Pie-Pacifique and his family narrowly escaped the genocide in 1994, coming to South Africa in 2001 as a refugee and working as a car guard until he enrolled at the then-University of Natal and was awarded the Mandela Rhodes Scholarship.
The Africa Network Meeting’s agenda focused on the role of IP practitioners in encouraging the use of IP systems at a national level and included a panel discussion on ‘Innovation in Africa’, moderated by Adams and Adams Partner Vishen Pillay, with guest panellists Udisha Chathuri, Senior Manager at the South African Patents and Designs Registry, Innovations Support and Protection (CIPC), and Dr Fernando Dos Santos, past Director General of ARIPO and author of the book Innovation in Africa.
The event’s Breakaway Sessions on current IP issues, including prosecution pitfalls and filing strategies; counterfeiting on online platforms; and protecting trade marks in the digital era, saw robust engagement among the delegates at this year’s meeting.
In addition, attendees were introduced to the L2Pro Africa website and the Qualcomm Innovate in Africa Program, now in its second year. The L2Pro Africa website is a joint effort by Qualcomm and Adams and Adams to provide a free IP learning platform with information for innovators and entrepreneurs in Africa who wish to learn more about how to protect their IP rights to leverage their innovations.
After a welcome reception and meetings, a dinner rounded off day one’s proceedings. On day two, the seminar kick-off in earnest, followed by a cocktail reception before the evening’s entertainment by the talented and world-renowned Ndlovu Youth Choir at the Teatro Montecasino.
“Over the past 12 years, our Africa Network Meeting has become a significant event, fostering a spirit of collaboration and shared purpose in navigating the evolving IP landscape on the continent. As the event grows from strength to strength, we look forward to continuing working with our colleagues across Africa to enhance capacity in the IP fraternity while expanding our footprint by providing effective and efficient IP services in Africa,” says Kelly Thompson, Chairperson of Adams and Adams.
